Carpet laying instruction apparatus



J. R. POLLARD March 29, 1949.

CARPET LAYING INSTRUCTION APPARATUS 2 She'tS-Shtiet 1 Filed Aug. 1', 1947 March 29, 1949. D' 2,465,748

CARPET LAYING INSTRUCTION APPARATUS Filed Aug. 1, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 w LQ /I o 9& 5% x ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 29, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CARPET LAYING INSTRUCTION APPARATUS John R. Pollard, Amsterdam, Mohawk Carpet Mills, Inc.,

N. Y., assignor to Amsterdam, N. Y.,

7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to apparatus for giving instruction and is concerned more particularly with a novel apparatus, by which instruction may be given in the laying of carpet, with or without underlying cushioning material. The use of the apparatus enables an instructor to demonstrate how to lay carpet to cover areas of regular or irregular outline, the demonstration involving cutting the carpet to fit the outline,

stretching the carpet taut, and securing it in 1 place along the boundary of the area. After such a demonstration, the apparatus may be used by the pupils for practice, and the apparatus makes it possible to vary the shape of the area to be carpeted, so that different conditions encountered in carpet laying in the field may be simulated. Although actual carpet and cushioning material are used for both instruction and practice, only small amounts of the carpet and cushioning material are consumed in a single laying operation, so that the apparatus may be utilized for instruction and practice at little expense.

The preferred form of the apparatus includes a platform structure having a flat top, above which a wall rises at one end. The structure includes supports, preferably mounted below the top, for supplies of carpet and cushioning material and, when the supplies, usually rolls, are

mounted below the top, the carpet and material are led upwardly through openings lying remote from the wall and extending parallel thereto. Means are provided for varying the outline of the end of the top adjacent the Wall and such means may take the form of blocks, which can be removably secured to the top along the wall and used in different arrangements to give that end of the top an irregular boundary. The apparatus includes means adjacent the supplies of cushioning material and carpet for gripping the latter along lines parallel to the wall and adjacent the supplies and means may also be provided for securing the free end of the carpet and cushioning material, after they have been stretched taut, along the boundary of the top adjacent the wall. The back portion of the top serves as a floor, on which a speaker may stand to explain a demonstration being made or to give instruction to a pupil, who is practicing. To assist the instructor, the platform structure is provided with a support rising above the top of the platform at the rear and carrying a projection screen, upon which instructions may be projected by means of slides.

For a better understanding of the invention,

" ported by brackets ll.

2 reference may be made to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a view of the apparatus in perspective with parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of different blocks used with the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a central transverse sectional view through the apparatus;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through the apparatus; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line E-5 of Fig. 4.

The apparatus in the form shown comprises a platform structure ill, which includes a top H of floor boards laid edge to edge and supported by a framework, which includes upper and lower horizontal members l2, i 3, and upright M. The structure is rectangular and is provided with casters l5 attached to the framework adjacent the corners, so that the structure may be readily moved about.

A wall Hi rises from the top of the platform at one end and may consist of horizontal and vertical boards connected together and sup- Adjacent the wall, the top of the platform is provided with a number of openings it, which may receive pins I9 on blocks 20' provided with handles 2!. The blocks may be boxes of light construction and a number of blocks of different shape are provided with the apparatus so that, by mounting them on the top of the platform, the boundary of the top adjacent the wall may be made irregular to simulate the wall of a room having, for example, a fireplace, a door, or other lik structural feature.

A supply of cushioning material in the form of a roll 22 is mounted beneath the top of the platform on rollers 23 supported in vertical plates 24 attached to the horizontal bars l3 of the framework. The cushioning material is led upwardly from the roll and passed through an opening 25 in the top of the platform. An inclined bar 28 is attached to the underside of the platform along one side of the opening, the bar being braced by a second bar Zl'. A roller 28 is mounted eccentrically in suitable supports secured to the upper horizontal members I2 of the structure and lies adjacent bar 26. The shaft 29 of the roller extends out beyond the edge of the top and is provided with a crank 36, by which the roller may be rotated to move it close to bar 26.

A supply of carpet in the form of a roll 3| is mounted on rollers 32 supported for rotation in plates 33 attached to frame members it and lies beneath an opening 3% through the top of the platform. At one side of the opening, a block 35 with an inclined face is secured to the underside of the platform and, on the other side of the opening, a block 36 is mounted for movement in guides 37. Block 36 has an inclined forward face provided with pins and the block is movable toward and away from block 3% by means of a shaft 33 having an arm 3? attached to block 36 by a link til. The shaft is mounted in suitable bearings and projects out beyond the edge of the platform. At its outer end, it carries a crank iii, by which the shaft may be turned to move the block toward or away from the stationary block 35. A. wall t2 rises from the platfori along one edge of opening but may be omitted, if desired.

The carpet and cushioning material employed with the apparatus are of less width than the width at the top of the platform and the rear por tion 53 of the platform serves as a floor, on which a speaker may stand. A support M1 is mounted detachably on the platform structure along the rear edge of floor 53 and is provided with a screen as. A projector [it is mounted on a support A? to the rear of the screen and a hood 2-8 leads from the front of the projector to the rear of support G l around screen 55. Support -i may be formed with a platform 59, on which the operator of the projector may stand. The hood 38 is preferably detachably secured to the rear of support it and also to a bracket at on support 49.

In the use of the apparatus for th purpose of demonstrating the laying of carpet to cover an area with an irregular boundary, the instructor places one or more of the blocks 20 with their pins in appropriate openings 53 in the top of the platform adjacent the wall. He then releases the gripping means for the cushioning material and carpet and pulls from the supplies suitable lengths which, when stretched taut, will reach to the wall. The gripping means are then operated to clamp the carpet and cushioning material and the free ends of the carpet and cushion" ing material are cut so that they will fit smoothly along the sides of the blocks and the exposed portion of the wall. The instructor then stretches the carpet and cushioning material taut by the usual tools and secures the carpet and cushioning material in place along the irregular boundary of the top. For this purpose, he may use tacks driven through the carpet and cushioning material and into the top of the platform or, if preferred, he may use fastening devices, consisting of a strip of wood 5i provided with inclined nails 52 projecting upwardly therefrom. When such fastening devices are used, the strips are out and nailed in place along the irregular boundary of the top before the carpet and cushioning material are stretched.

During the actual laying operation, the speaker may stand on floor 53 and may explain what the demonstrator is doing. Also, slides may be projected on screen at, so that the spectators may both see the demonstration and read an explanation carried by the slides.

When the demonstration has been completed. the carpet and cushioning material are detached from the top of the platform and the free ends thereof are trimmed off, so that the ends are square. Thereafter, a different arrangement of ,boxesmay be used to present another problem or the carpet may be merely secured in place along the wall. Ordinarily, only small amounts of carpet and cushioning material are consumed in a single laying operation and the supplies of carpet and cushioning material will last for a considerable period of time. When the supplies have nearly run out, the ends of the original supplies can be connected to new supplies and the use of the apparatus continued as before.

The support M carrying screen 45 is demountable from the platform and the hood 43 may be made collapsible. The entire apparatusmay, accordingly, be stacked in a relatively small space, so that it can be easily transported from one point to another.

I claim:

1. A carpet laying instruction apparatus, which a platform structure having a flat top r 1d a wall rising above the top at one end. a suptort ben ath the top and remote from. said wall fo 01 ng a supply of carpet, the top having an opening parallel to said wall, through which the carpet can be drawn from the supply to overlie the top, and means beneath the top and adjacent the support for gripping carpet drawn from the supply.

2. A carpet laying instruction apparatus, which comprises a platform structure having a flat top and a wall rising above the top at one end, supports beneath the top at the other end of the structure for supplies of carpet and cushioning material, the support for the supply of cushioning material lying nearer said wall and the top having a pair of openings parallel to said wall, through which the cushioning material and carpet, respectively, can be drawn from the supplies over the top, and separate means adjacent the individual supports for gripping carpet and cushioning material drawn from the supplies.

3. A carpet laying instruction apparatus. which comprises a platform structure having a flat top and a wall rising above the top at one end, a block mounted on the top adjacent the wall and with the latter defining an irregular boundary for the top, a support for a supply of carpet beneath the top and at the other end of the structure, the top having an opening through which carpet from the supply can be drawn to overlie the wall, and means adjacent the support for gripping carpet drawn from the supply.

4. A carpet laying instruction apparatus, which comprises a platform structure having a flat top and a wall rising above the top at one end, a block mounted on the top adjacent the wall and with the latter defining an irregular boundary for the top, supports on the structure beneath the top for supplies of carpet and cushioning material, the carpet and cushioning .iaterial being of substantially the same width and of less width than the top, the top having transverse openings parallel to the wall and remote therefrom, through which the carpet and cushioning material may pass, means adjacent the openings for gripping the carpet and cushioning material, and means on the top along said boundary for holding the free ends of carpet and cushioning material, which have been stretched taut from their gripping means.

5. A carpet laying instruction apparatus, which comprises a platform structure having a flat top and a wall rising above the top at one end and extending partway across the top, a support for a supply of carpet beneath the top and at the other end of the structure, the carpet having a width approximately equal to the length of the wall, the top having an opening, through which carpet from the supply can be drawn over the top, the opening being parallel to the wall and having its ends aligned with those of the wall, and means on the structure adjacent the support for gripping carpet drawn from the supply along a line parallel with the wall.

6. A carpet laying instruction apparatus, which comprises a platform structure having a flat top and a wall rising above the top at one end, a block mounted on the top adjacent the wall and with the latter defining an irregular boundary for the top, a support for a supply of carpet at the other end of the structure, and means adjacent the support for gripping carpet drawn from the supply along a line parallel to the wall.

7. A carpet laying instruction apparatus, which comprises a platform structure having a flat top and a wall rising above the top at one end, a

parallel to the wall.

JOHN R. POLLARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 9,522 Peterson Dec. 28, 1880 2,141,248 McCurrach Dec. 27, 1938 2,188,185 Hutchinson Jan. 23, 1940 

